White Vans
by Shahrezad1
Summary: "Will they be okay? Mom and Dad…Emily and Hank, well, they might be the O.Z. cross of Super Nanny and C3PO, but they're still my Mom and Dad. I mean, you'll always be my father, but…" After the battle, DG and Ahamo have a needed conversation. A one-shot.


**White Vans**

By Shahrezad1

Summary: "Will they be okay? Mom and Dad…Emily and Hank, well, they might be the O.Z. cross of Super Nanny and C3PO, but they're still my Mom and Dad. I mean, you'll always be my father, but…" "But they're the adoptive parents and we're merely the birth parents, trying to reconnect with their missing child," he stated simply. After the battle, DG and Ahamo have a needed conversation.

Disclaimer: Pshaw. As if I actually owned any of this. I'm not that creative. Just a mirror's image and a magnifying glass created to reflect what is and what can be. ;)

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DG sat down quietly, watching as jubilation quickly made way for practicality now that the battle was over. The Longcoats, realizing that their leader had been defeated, had given in with minimal struggle. Most hadn't even anticipated losing, thus when the end had come it had been all the more of a shock. Growing up under the oppression of the Sorceress had affected many that way—in thinking that the only way to live was to turn to her side; so to have her defeated was to throw their world off of its axis.

Leaving the job of rounding up and imprisoning them to his men, Jeb Cain had come to find his father. There was a deep-rooted fear of loss there, behind his familiar-looking blue eyes, a kind of fear the former Tin Man shared. But the relief they'd expressed at seeing one another had stemmed much of that; it would be years before they needed to worry for someone else's safety again, a truth that they somehow knew.

Therefore they were holed up in a corner, saying nothing as was their habit but soaking in each others' presence. Raw was busy trying to heal the wound Cain had suffered, but it was nothing compared to what he'd dealt with before so there was no real anxiety there.

A part of DG wished that she could intrude upon the small circle, and thereby join the Cains, but she somehow knew that now wasn't the time. Despite the longing she felt for the friendship there.

Glitch meanwhile warred between visiting his emancipated brain and fluttering around the Queen, sleeves flapping and jaw running a mile a minute. The Queen herself had her arm around a shivering Azkadellia and didn't appear to be letting go any time soon. There, again, was another example of the return of a lost parent-child relationship. And DG knew instinctively that the Queen blamed herself for Az's bodily imprisonment.

Even if DG was really to blame.

A lurch tugged somewhere in the midst of her stomach and she knew instinctively that the nightmares that had been plaguing her lately would be taking over again tonight, unless exhaustion warred them away. How else was her mind to face the consequences of her childhood actions? Thousands killed…hundreds imprisoned…the personal sorrow of people that she now knew and cared for… Even the enslavement of her own sister, body and soul. A sister she hadn't even realized she had, but now wouldn't give up for anything.

Az was still such a child, DG could tell. And she couldn't help but find some irony in the role reversal, with DG as the responsible adult and Az the more inexperienced, fearful of the two. One of the worst things that the Witch had stolen was Azkadellia's time—she wore her adult face and form with the uneasy feeling of a child dressing up in her mother's clothing; an ill fit that didn't reflect who she saw of herself.

Although Glitch was certainly helping with some of that apprehension, his easy tenor rising and falling in enthusiasm from across the room as he explained cheerfully how they would be able to return to their previous activities. Az watched him, bemused if still wary, her hair taken down from its elaborate style and replaced with a simple braid. Somewhere along the way Glitch had also given her his coat in an effort to help with her shivering, never mind that it was more emotional than physical. And that cloth barrier neatly cut off the image of the Witch's choice in clothing, cutting her presence in half.

The last member of their enclosed party was busy making commands known to a reliable, loyal messenger he'd known for years. The call being sent was for all of the old houses to return; to bring representatives and learn for themselves what had happened.

An overheard discussion between the two men, one somewhat familiar and one utterly unknown, told her even more about the consequences of her actions as it was noted that most of the family heads would have perished by now under the evil Sorceress' reign. The families had gone into hiding, and it would take the skills of an Unwanted to really dig them back out and create some solidarity.

DG sighed and fiddled with a thread in her jeans.

Ahamo finished his conversation and then, without hesitation, came to sit next to her. She wasn't sure if she welcomed his presence or not. But when he said nothing at all, she decided to accept it, only breaking the silence when she felt that it was the right time to do so.

"So what's going to happen next?"

Blue eyes that matched the ones she saw in the mirror each morning flickered to her, and his mouth took on a trademark smirk of a smile. It was jarring just how much she'd inherited from him, genetically, but she couldn't look away. Like a train wreck occurring while you helplessly stood by.

"Well, your mother is going to meet with the old families and Az is going to be re-introduced to them. Properly. You'll be there, too. We'll have representatives from every nation within our borders, including the Eastern Guild, and your friend Raw has volunteered himself as resident Viewer for the proceedings. To keep everyone honest."

"Including Az?" she asked plaintively, eyebrows furrowing as she stared across the room at the girl in question. Thus it was by the tone of Ahamo's voice that she could tell when his smile slipped away.

"Looks like you hit the nail on the head," admiration warred with sadness, "but you're right. He'll be there to defend her innocence as much as anything. To prove that she was possessed by the Witch during the Sorceress' reign."

"I'll provide evidence if you need it."

He hesitated, "you don't have to do that if you don't want to."

"But I do," she turned to face him, and only then one of the tears she'd been holding back trickled past, "_I do._ Anything to help Az. It's my fault, so I should try to make up for it."

"Oh, DG, you shouldn't blame yourself. Especially now, with the Witch defeated by you no less."

"Everything is still my fault."

"I'm not saying that, I just," he sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy, leonine hair, then scratched at his muttonchops in thought. She wondered if he knew that back home his current hairstyle was very much out of style. Then again, this was the Outer Zone, and it seemed like the idea of 'Anything Goes' was alive and kicking. Not that they'd had much time for style the past few years, what with more pressing worries occurring…

"Look, what happened was tragic. I can admit that," such platitudes didn't interest her, and DG wondered absently if what she was feeling was delayed shock. A kind of way for her body and mind to cope with the past several days, now that the flight or fight response was out of her system. But then what he said next fine-tuned her attention, "I lost not just one daughter, but _both_. In a handful of days, really. And then my wonderful wife…for years…"

Another tear streamed forth. Again, she was to blame, "…I'm so sorry…"

"No, DG! It's not your fault!" placing his hand on hers, his harsh command surprised her and caught the attention of both groups across the room. She mentally groaned as she saw both Cain and the Queen make a mental note to talk to her later, alone, which was anything but what she wanted. Until Ahamo drew her back, features concerned.

"The fact of the matter is that _you were a child_. No one was to blame, except for the Witch. And if you hadn't come along them someone else would have."

"But the prison was protected by _magic_. And if I hadn't been there, then-."

He chuckled, surprising her, "darling, you shouldn't assume that this family is the only one in this world that has magic. If you hadn't found her there, she would have surely found another victim. And it would have been one that wouldn't have had such a wonderful sister to save them from it. Sure, it was convenient for her to have Az, the next in line to the crown. But all that changed was that her murders and imprisonings were more obvious, rather than hidden. Your choice didn't change anything."

"And," he continued pointedly, a smile again on his face, "you did one better than the ancients, for all of their magic and sorcery. They merely imprisoned her, but you and your sister together took care of her so that she'll never come back again. So that she'll never terrorize anyone ever again, no matter the evil in this world and all its attempts to bring her back. If that's not making up for your mistakes, I don't know what is."

"But…because of me you spent years alone."

"I did," he admitted quietly, "but it was in the knowledge that you were safe, and that one day I would see you, your mother, and hopefully my sweet Az again. Sure, I missed watching you grow up," he swallowed harshly, "but at least this way I knew that you would have a _chance_ to grow up. And in the meanwhile I can catch up with Hank and swap stories."

That was another thing that she was worried about…

"Ahamo…um, I mean Dad. Well, Azkadellia…the Witch, she reprogrammed them. What about them, will they be okay?" she smiled wryly, "I guess I feel kind of weird knowing that they were robots and all. And of thinking of them in terms of being electronic, particularly when remembering the lectures I used to receive for coming home late…or getting in motorcycle accidents…"

"Motorcycle accidents?" Ahamo repeatedly, surprised and a little horrified. And DG remembered that unlike her new-found mother, her father would actually be familiar with some of the things from her world. Maybe she should use some discretion…

"Erm, they weren't that bad. Really. But what I mean is," she scooted forward, worried, "will they be okay? Mom and Dad…Emily and Hank, well, they might be the O.Z. cross of Super Nanny and C3PO, but they're still my Mom and Dad. I mean, you'll always be my father, but…"

She bit her lip. And in the silence he elaborated with some understanding, if a little sadness.

"But they're the adoptive parents and we're merely the birth parents, trying to reconnect with their missing child," he stated simply, a breath coming out slowly as his melancholy thoughts came forth, "You can respect your mother and I; love us, even, but it won't be the same as what it is for Az, having been older when she was taken over. For you, we weren't there for nightmares and boys and school, and all the little hardships of raising a child. So there will always been a little bit of distance between us. Am I right?"

DG sighed, "yeah," she answered lamely.

"It's okay, DG. I figured that something like this would happen."

"Really?" they shared a look. An identical one, which made both smile quietly at one another.

"Yeah, _'really.'_ Which is why I'll just settle for 'Uncle Figure' and 'Friend' for now. It's all that I can expect, now that you're an adult and allowed free reign to act as you chose. Is that alright with you?"

She beamed, "I think I can handle that."

"Good. And as for your question, I already have someone on it. Some of the members of Milltown headed for the Tower when they heard that the battle was going to occur, but arrived a little too late. Still, not too late to help out and do some rebuilding and healing. Hank and Emily have already been returned to their former state, as memories are precious things among their kind and they would hate to have permanently lost those of the young Princess's childhood," he grinned slightly, and DG had to groan.

"And, I have to say, I'm very glad that you have decided not to cut off ties with your mother and I in order to return to Kansas. I've been rather curious about what's happened on the other side the past few years, and I feel like you may be the only one who can answer my questions. Especially now that I've answered yours."

DG laughed, happily, and again caught the eyes of Cain and her mother across the room. Sure, they'd both still be talking to her later and, yes, it would take some time, but eventually everything would return to normal. Everyone would be if not 'okay' then 'alright.' She would be 'alright.' Healing takes time. And in the meanwhile, she was more than willing to make some new friends.

"Sure. What would you like to know first?"

"Well, I admit that I'm rather curious about these 'Vans' you mentioned earlier. In my day we had the large Volkswagen vans but I get this feeling that that's not what you're talking about."

"You'd be right about that."

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AN: Some might note that in this fanfic there are some inklings of Az/Glitch, while my other recent one-shot was Az/Jeb. There's a reason for this: I like both pairings and believe that they are equally plausible. XD

Also, this was to answer some of my questions from the end of the movie. Namely, the need for closure between DG and her robot parents. After all, she spent a good third of the miniseries looking for them. And electronic or no, she probably still cares for them as her Mom and Dad. :)


End file.
